Santa Marta!

Dear readers,

In my last post with regards to Colombia I wrote about Cartagena. This post is about our stay in Santa Marta, the next destination on our trip.

Santa Marta is a colonial city, but with a modern twist and a modern vibe. The beach stretches itself from the centre all the way to the outskirts of Santa Marta. The boulevard is a pleasure to stroll on during the late afternoon to watch people and the sun going down, which leaves a beautiful scenery as you can see in one of my pictures here below.

We really enjoyed Santa Marta, because we could finally hit the beach without having to speedboat there :P Also, in Santa Marta you can enjoy better restaurants and FOOD is what we live for at the end of the day, right?! ;) Another reason why staying in Santa Marta is an absolute MUST is because of the famous "Parque Tayrona", one of the most beautiful natural parks in the world. But more on this park in another post! For now, some pictures of Santa Marta! Enjoy!

Love, Melissa

Playa Salguero

Enjoying a Mexican appetizer, this always scores points with me! :D

Santa Marta's boulevard

Sunset!

Enjoying a cocktail on the boulevard!

At restaurant "Le Bistro", sipping a mojito!

Cartagena!

Dear readers,

After spending some marvellous days in Bogota, we were headed to Cartagena. Cartagena is in the north of Colombia, it is part of the Caribbean and when you arrive in Cartagena you feel the Caribbean vibe immediately! The people are relaxter and so it the atmosphere! I loved the colonial vibe of this city, so beautiful. Did you know this is where most of Gabriel García Marquez's books are written?! I love his books and everytime when I read one of his books, I imagined Cartagena to be such a chill place with so much history and every little detail Marquez describes in his book about Cartagena, is so true! So nice to finally be able to experience "his" Cartagena :)

Street in Cartagena...I love the bougainvillea draping itself  off the balcony!

Almost all buildings are painted in a different colour, this adds so much to the Caribbean vibe!

Cartagena offers a broad variety of restaurants, bars, pubs and cafe's. There is something for everybody. I loved going to a plaza in the evening, just because there is so much to see and feel: people from all over the world, street artists, hearing rumba and salsa in the background...so enjoyable!

Enjoying a German beer in Colombia :P

We decided to go on a trip to one of the lovely islands in the near surroundings of Cartagena. It was a 45 minute boattrip to Isla del Encanto. It was so beautiful there! Everything what comes to mind when you think of an island, you can find right there :)

Isla del Encanto

Of course, no holiday is complete without enjoying some fine dining ;)

In Cartagena you can find Latin America's biggest fort. It was an interesting sightseeing and I especially loved the view from up there!

Two more pictures of Cartagena's streetview and buildings!

Our last night in Cartagena we originally wanted to go to a restaurant called "Salou", but when we got there, the doors were closed. The owner explained to us they wouldn't open for the day, since the electricity went off and they had to throw away all their food...bummer! They recommended us another restaurant called "Sabris". Sabris is a Spanish restaurant and it was REALLY delicious! Even better when we received 2 little bottles of wine and a dessert from Salou as a courtesy...WOW!!! What a great service from both restaurants! So if you ever travel to Cartagena, make sure to visit both of these restaurants...you're in for a great night and great food!

Loving the photos? Have any of you ever visited Cartagena?

Love, Melissa

Heaven is for real!

Dear readers,

When my mom got back from a trip last February she gave me a book which she had bought at the airport in Atlanta while waiting for her flight. She told me she had read the book in one time and that she LOVED it. Of course she made me curious, so I decided to take it with me on my trip to Colombia. Once I started reading the book I was intrigued by its topic and could not put it down simply because I was so curious as to what else that little boy had to say with regards to heaven. I know this book is controversial, but I did want to share it with you guys, because I do not only find it a remarkable story, but because I do consider it a true story...YES, I BELIEVE IT!!! Buy it, read it and decide for yourself :)

Oh, and let me know what you think of the book!!!

Love, Melissa

P.S. Tomorrow I will share with you our experience in Cartagena, Colombia!

See you soon Colombia!

Dear readers,

I am SO excited...in less than 12 hours I will be headed to Bogota, Colombia! :) Seriously cannot wait! My trip will be as follow: Bogota, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Taryona Parc, Cali, Popayan, Cali and back to Bogota. If any of you readers have been to one of these places or are currently living there, please share some tips! I would love to hear them! It would definitely make my stay so much more special, indulging the local tips! :)

As always, I will post photos as soon as I am back in Holland! In the meanwhile I hope I can write some posts when I am in Colombia.

For now...I wish you a very pleasant Easter and talk to you soon!

Love, Melissa